Forget “experience” versus “change.” We may be in for an election that pits hope against fear.

Consider this unnerving excerpt from John McCain’s speech last night, following his primary victory in Wisconsin:

The most important obligation of the next President is to protect Americans from the threat posed by violent extremists who despise us, our values and modernity itself. They are moral monsters, but they are also a disciplined, dedicated movement driven by an apocalyptic zeal, which celebrates murder, has access to science, technology and mass communications, and is determined to acquire and use against us weapons of mass destruction.

Just like paper covers rock, fear clouds reason. So gird yourself for a “summer of fear.” I better go out and buy some plastic wrap and duct tape before they run out at the hardware store.